After standing up to an erratic and violent Billy after his assault on Steve at the Byers house, Max further proved her worth, stealing Billy's car and transporting the group to the underground tunnels. Max grew romantically attached to Lucas, but had an awkward first meeting with Eleven upon her return to Hawkins. Max and her friends soon realized Will was possessed by 'The Mind Flayer', a malevolent entity serving as the mind and heart of the Upside Down, whose influence in Hawkins was expanding in the form of gigantic, vine-like tunnels burrowing deep beneath the city. Though skeptical at first, Max's convictions would shift after encountering a pack of faceless humanoid predators alongside Lucas, Dustin and their friend Steve Harrington. Though her new friends were initially reluctant to explain what had happened to Will, Lucas eventually divulged the whole history of events involving Will, Eleven, the Demogorgon and the Upside Down. When Will started experiencing strange 'episodes', Max took notice, and became even more curious after learning of Will's disappearance the previous year. Dustin and Lucas, each secretly pining for her affection, wanted to make Max an official member of 'the Party', but Mike pushed back against the idea. On Halloween, Max crossed paths with the boys while trick-or-treating, and despite being weirded-out by their earlier behaviour, had a change of heart, and sought to befriend them. After Maxine joined the boys' class at Hawkins Middle School, they realised the new girl and the mysterious MADMAX were one and the same. Max's high scores captured the attention of arcade regulars Dustin, Lucas, Will and Mike, who mistakenly assumed her to be a boy. Max quickly gained a reputation at the Palace Arcade for topping the game leader boards, her high scores submitted under the player name 'MADMAX'. Following her mother's divorce and remarriage to Neil Hargrove in 1984, Max and her erratic stepbrother Billy moved to Hawkins, Indiana. Max was originally from California, and had a keen interest in skateboarding from a young age.

A newcomer to the Party, and the stepsister of Billy Hargrove, she is best friends with Will Byers, Dustin Henderson, Jane 'Eleven' Hopper, Lucas Sinclair and Mike Wheeler she also has an on-and-off romantic relationship with Lucas. Maxine 'Max' Mayfield, portrayed by Sadie Sink, is a main character in Stranger Things, being introduced in the second season.

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